IU again rises above chaos

Hoosiers outlast Purdue

Hoosiers outlast Purdue

February 20, 2008|CURT RALLO Tribune Staff Writer

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Hopefully, in the deafening frenzy and circus atmosphere that was Assembly Hall Tuesday night, college basketball fans took notice that there are two legitimate contenders for the Big Ten men's basketball crown from the state of Indiana. No. 14 Indiana withstood a powerful second-half punch from No. 15 Purdue and tightened the top of the Big Ten standings with a 77-68 triumph over the Boilermakers. Purdue is now 21-6 overall and 12-2 in the Big Ten, its 11-game winning streak coming to a screeching halt by a physical and quick Indiana attack. Indiana's victory gives the Hoosiers a 22-4 record overall and 11-2 Big Ten mark. The Hoosiers' victory also helped Wisconsin, which is 21-4 overall and 11-2 in the Big Ten. Purdue still leads the overall series with Indiana, 107-84. Controversy, though swirled around the game. Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson, accused of five major violations -- including lying to the NCAA, may have coached his final game as Indiana's leader. A decision on Sampson's fate is expected this week as Indiana conducts its own investigation into the charges. "The people that know me -- know me," Sampson said in reference to the accusations about his integrity. Sampson said that he expects to continue coaching the Hoosiers. "We've been pretty good in this arena," said Sampson, whose Hoosiers are 30-2 in his two seasons at Assembly Hall. "I expect to be back in here -- Tuesday (vs. Ohio State). ... My focus has been on the team. That's all I'm focused on." Freshman superstar Eric Gordon powered the Hoosiers with 22 points. Gordon only hit four of 12 shots, but cashed in at the free-throw line, hitting 13 of 15. Indiana's force inside, D.J. White, came off Saturday's knee injury against Michigan State to punish Purdue with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Armon Bassett contributed 16 points to the Hoosier attack. Freshman Robbie Hummel led Purdue with 17 points. Scott Martin scored 12 points, E'Twaun Moore scored 11 and Keaton Grant scored 10. Sampson sees a fierce battle for the Big Ten race. "Purdue certainly has a shot at winning this conference championship," Sampson said. "I really like their team. I think we have a good shot at it. I think Wisconsin does. "I don't know about Michigan State, but as long as Tom Izzo is over there, they have a good chance." Purdue coach Matt Painter focused on the positives for his Boilermakers. "We're still in first place, is what I told them," Painter said of his postgame talk with the Boilermakers. "We gave a good effort. It's one of those games where the ball doesn't go down for you. "We have eight days before we play. We're just going to sit back, take some time off and get some practice in and correct some of the errors we had, and get ready for Minnesota." White, who averages 17.1 points and 10.2 rebounds a game, led an emotionally charged Indiana effort. "I knew I was going to play," White said. "I felt pretty good (Monday). I just wanted to go out there and be aggressive and play like I've been playing. "At the beginning of the game, I was timid. It's always in your head when you have an injury like that (knee), but as the game went along, I got more comfortable with it and forgot about it." Painter had to do a double-take when looking at the stat sheet. His Boilermakers took 30 more shots than Indiana, and were a plus-18 in the turnover category, forcing 23 turnovers by Indiana while only committing five. That gave Purdue a staggering 23-2 edge in points off of turnovers. But the Boilermakers were harassed into 25-of-72 shooting (35 percent), and hit only 11 of 21 free throws. Sampson said that the Hoosiers focused on two areas in drawing up the game plan against Purdue -- dominate the boards and get to the free-throw line. It was mission accomplished for the Hoosiers on both counts. Indiana owned the glass, 46-30, and hit 30 of 34 free throws. Indiana scored 17 of its last 20 points from the free-throw line. Purdue led early and nudged into a 32-29 halftime lead. White and Kyle Taber set the tone for the second half with back-to-back slam dunks to rock Assembly Hall. Purdue rallied to cut the score to 57-55, thanks to a scoring flurry by Martin, but then the Boilermakers started to foul Indiana, and the Hoosiers cashed in. "I thought our guys gave a pretty good effort," Painter said. "Obviously, we couldn't make our free throws, and that really hurt us down the stretch. We were doing some positive things and were coming up empty." For Sampson, his team emerged from a rugged five-game stretch. "When we started this stretch prior to the Illinois game, we kind of circled these five games," Sampson said. "And for most of them, we only had two days prep. Our goal was to go 5-0, and we came within a 3-point bank shot of doing that. I think that tells you a lot of this group, but we have a lot of basketball left." No. 15 INDIANA 77, No. 14 PURDUE 68At Bloomington, Ind.PURDUE (21-6) Hummel 7-12 0-0 17, Calasan 1-6 1-2 3, Kramer 3-8 2-4 8, Grant 4-13 0-0 10, Moore 3-15 4-5 11, Crump 0-1 0-0 0, Martin 5-13 1-6 12, Green 0-2 1-2 1, Johnson 2-2 2-2 6. Totals 25-72 11-21 68. INDIANA (22-4) D.White 6-11 7-8 19, Stemler 1-1 0-0 3, Bassett 4-5 4-5 16, Ellis 2-6 2-2 7, Gordon 4-12 13-15 22, Thomas 0-1 0-0 0, Crawford 0-3 4-4 4, Taber 3-3 0-0 6. Totals 20-42 30-34 77. Halftime -- Indiana 32-29. 3-Point Goals -- Purdue 7-29 (Hummel 3-6, Grant 2-6, Martin 1-5, Moore 1-7, Green 0-1, Kramer 0-2, Calasan 0-2), Indiana 7-11 (Bassett 4-4, Stemler 1-1, Ellis 1-2, Gordon 1-3, Crawford 0-1). Fouled Out -- Kramer, D.White. Rebounds -- Purdue 30 (Kramer 7), Indiana 46 (D.White 15). Assists -- Purdue 10 (Kramer 5), Indiana 14 (Bassett 4). Total Fouls -- Purdue 26, Indiana 17. A -- 17,401.